Hey Dudes built their brand on lightweight comfort and cheap enough that nobody worries when they get muddy at a music festival or soaked at a tailgate. Then comes the cleanup question, and most owners stuff them in the dryer with a load of towels. Can you dry Hey Dudes in the dryer? The short answer is no, and the longer answer is that you can ruin a $65 pair in a single 40-minute cycle. The heat dissolves the EVA foam insole, shrinks the elastic laces, and softens the contact cement holding the upper to the sole. The shoes look fine for the first few wears, then fall apart within a month. Here is exactly what happens and how to dry them properly so they last.
Why Heat Destroys Hey Dudes
Hey Dudes use a Flex and Fold sole made of compressed EVA foam, glued to a canvas, suede, or knit upper with contact cement. EVA foam begins to soften and lose its spring at temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. A standard residential dryer on medium heat runs at 130 to 140 degrees at the drum. High heat reaches 150 to 160 degrees. Both ranges are inside the failure zone for EVA.
The contact cement starts to creep at around 150 degrees Fahrenheit. After one cycle, you might not see visible delamination. After three or four, the sole separates at the heel and toe. The canvas upper also shrinks slightly, especially around the elastic laces and collar, leaving a fit that is suddenly too tight in the toe box.
Air Drying Is the Only Safe Method
Hey Dudes dry remarkably fast for a closed-toe shoe because the canvas upper and EVA foam are both porous. After a wash, you should expect 8 to 12 hours of total air-dry time at room temperature. With a fan, that cuts to 4 to 6 hours.
The drying setup that works:
- Remove the insole. Squeeze excess water out by pressing between two terry towels.
- Stuff the shoes with crumpled newspaper, paper towels, or a microfiber cloth to absorb interior moisture and hold shape.
- Place the shoes upside down on a drying rack with the toes elevated and the heels low to encourage water runoff.
- Position a box fan or oscillating fan 3 feet away on low to medium speed.
- Swap the stuffing once after 2 hours; the first round absorbs most of the water.
Never place wet Hey Dudes in direct sunlight for more than 30 minutes. UV breaks down the EVA faster than dryer heat, and the canvas dyes fade unevenly leaving permanent sun stripes.
Washing Hey Dudes Before Drying
The official Hey Dude website says the shoes are machine washable. They are right, but only if you follow the protocol. Pull the insoles out and wash them separately by hand with mild soap. The insoles are the part that fails first in any machine wash.
For the shoes themselves, put them in a zippered mesh laundry bag with two or three bath towels. The towels cushion the tumble and prevent the shoes from banging the drum. Run a cold water gentle cycle with a quarter cup of free-and-clear detergent like Tide Free or All Free. Skip fabric softener. The wax coats the canvas and traps dirt next time.
Special Case: Suede and Leather Hey Dudes
Suede uppers like the Wally Sox or leather styles like the Wendy Boho cannot go in the washing machine. Water marks suede permanently and leather warps when wet. For these, spot-clean with a suede brush like the Kiwi Suede Care Kit ($8 at Target) and a damp microfiber for the canvas areas only.
If a suede Hey Dude gets soaked in a downpour, blot the surface with a dry towel immediately, stuff with newspaper, and air-dry away from heat. Once dry, brush the suede with a brass-bristle brush to restore the nap. A waterproofing spray like Crep Protect or Apple Brand Garde applied to new shoes prevents the problem entirely.
What a Dryer Does in Real Numbers
One dryer cycle on medium heat with a load of jeans typically:
- Shrinks the canvas upper by 2 to 4%, equivalent to half a shoe size
- Reduces EVA foam thickness by 5 to 10%, killing arch support
- Loosens the elastic laces by stretching the rubber under heat
- Causes color bleeding from darker canvas, leaving uneven dye spots
- Begins separation of the sole at high-stress areas like the toe and heel
The damage is cumulative. One cycle might not visibly destroy the shoes, but a pair washed and dried monthly will be unwearable in eight to ten months instead of the usual two-year lifespan.
If You Already Put Them in the Dryer
If you ran a cycle and the shoes look fine, inspect three places: the heel seam where the sole meets the upper, the inside of the toe box for delamination, and the insole for permanent compression marks. If everything looks intact, you got lucky on a low-heat short cycle. Going forward, switch to air drying.
If the sole is starting to lift, you can buy time with Shoe Goo or Gorilla Glue Original Clear at $5 to $8 a tube. Clean the bonding surface with rubbing alcohol, apply a thin bead, clamp with binder clips for 24 hours, and the bond holds for several more months of light wear. It will not survive heavy use.
Storage and Long-Term Care
Between washes, knock off dirt with a soft-bristle brush after each wear. Store the shoes in a cool, dry spot away from direct sunlight. Avoid leaving them in a hot car trunk where summer temperatures can exceed 140 degrees Fahrenheit, the same threshold that damages them in the dryer.
For odor control, sprinkle the insoles with baking soda overnight every few weeks and shake out before wearing. Lume or Native shoe deodorizer sprays handle the rest. A pair of Hey Dudes treated this way will easily last 18 to 24 months of regular wear at a real cost-per-wear of pennies. So can you dry Hey Dudes in the dryer? No, but you do not need to. Air drying takes about as long as a Netflix movie and protects your investment from heat damage that the dryer label will never warn you about.
